Russia, Canada confirm necessity to speed up anti-terrorist cooperation

Russia and Canada have confirmed the necessity to speed up anti-terrorist cooperation within the framework of the UN, G-8, OSCE, as well as within the Russia-NATO council and in the bilateral format. This is the essence of a joint statement released on Friday as a result of Russo-Canadian consultations on the struggle against international terrorism, which took place on July 4th.

The Russian delegation was headed by Vyacheslav Trubnikov, First Deputy Foreign Minister. The Canadian mission was led by Gaetan Lavertu, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Deputy Minister.

The head of the Canadian delegation met Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

The consultations' agenda, in particular, included the discussion of the situation in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Transcaucasia. The sides came to an agreement that long-term stability, economic prosperity and democratic development of regional countries was an important aspect of global security.

The Russian and Canadian officials accentuated the progress in Indo-Pakistani relations, especially following recent political efforts and the Alma-Ata meeting. The sides also agreed that the resolution to bilateral disputes could become more effective provided that the two countries established a direct dialogue.

The delegations unanimously confirmed the coordinating role of the UN and its Security Council in international anti-terrorist efforts. In this regard, the officials particularly emphasised the importance of establishing the cooperation between all countries worldwide and the Anti-terrorist Committee of the UN Security Council, as well as the necessity of successive implementation of all provisions of the UN Security Council's Anti-terrorist Resolutions.